Dispenser holder

ABSTRACT

A holder for pasteboard dispensers is provided to position the pasteboard dispensers conveniently for removal of materials therefrom. The dispenser holder of the present invention is formed from a single piece of spring metal shaped to retain the pasteboard dispenser. The spring metal may be attached to surfaces by adhesive material or may be an integral part of other items, such as shelf brackets, whereby the dispensers retained by the holder occupy a minimum usable space in the home, or in automobiles.

United States Patent [1 1 Simon 1 1 DISPENSER HOLDER [451 Sept. 24, 19743,285,559 11/1966 Simon 248/313 3,367,610 2/1968 Lindquist 248/205 A X3,409,257 11/1968 Elm 248/205 A X Primary ExaminerWilliam H. Schultz 5 7ABSTRACT A holder for pasteboard dispensers is providedto posi:

tion the pasteboard di spensers conveniendyfijr removal of materialstherefrom. The dispenser holder of the present invention is formed froma single piece of spring metal shaped to retain the pasteboarddispenser. The spring metal may be attached to surfaces by adhesivematerial or may be an integral part of other items, such as shelfbrackets, whereby the dispensers retained by the holder occupy a minimumusable space in the home, or in automobiles.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUSEPZMHH DISPENSER HOLDER BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION In my prior US. Pat. No. 3,285,559 issued on Nov. 15,1966, I disclosed and claimed holders for pasteboard dispensers whichcould be attached to various locations in homes and in automobiles sothat the dispensing of tissues from the dispensers was facilitated.Although the dispenser holder of the present utilizes some of the samegeneral principles as the invention disclosed and claimed in my priorU.S. Pat. No.- 3,285,559, the present invention is directed to adispenser holder which is strucuturally much simpler than my earlierinvention and which may be positioned in a greater variety of placesthan my earlier invention.

SUMMARY The present invention is directed to a dispenser holder formedfrom a single flat strip of spring metal. The ends of the spring metalare turned inwardly toward each other so that the ends of the metalpoint downwardly and toward each other in the undistorted condition ofthe dispenser holder. The holder is of such a size that when theundistorted holder is compared with the dispenser to be retained, thetwo end portions of the holer are A inch or more closer together thanthe dimension of the dispenser to be retained. Because of thedeformability and resiliancy of the spring metal of the presentinvention, dispensers of various sizes may be retained by the samedispenser holder.

As an example, facial tissues that are sold commercially in pasteboarddispensers commonly have dispenser widths of 4 /2 inches, 4% inches, or4% inches. With my present invention, the resiliant metal strip isformed so that the two ends are approximately 4 to 4% inches apart andthe one dispenser holder size can accommodate any of the threecommercially available dispenser sizes.

The dispenser holder of the present invention may be fastened to smoothsurfaces with adhesive material or it may be fastened in variouspositions by use of metal fasteners such as bolts, rivets or screws.

With the foregoing considerations in mind, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide an improved dispenser holder.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser holderwhich is easily manufactured and utilized.

These and other object of the present invention will become apparent asthis description proceeds in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the dispenserholder of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the holder of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along Line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the holder of FIG. 1

with a dispenser shown in phantom perspective.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of the dispenser of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the holder of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, andparticularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a dispenser holder 10which is formed from a single strip of spring metal. The holder 10 has aflat portion 12 intermediate of reversely curled end portions 14. Theend portions v14 are turned approximately 260 so that, in theundistorted condition, the end portions 14 form an angle ofapproximately with the flat portion 12 as indicated in FIG. 2.

The extreme ends 16 of end portions l4terminate no more than /2 inchfrom the flat portion 12 and serve as gripping members to hold thedispenser. As indicated in FIG. 3, the extreme ends 16 of end portions14 may have serrations 18 formed thereon. The serrations l8 aid inhaving the ends 16 grip the dispenser when the dispenser is placedwithin the holder 10. It will be understood that the serrations 18 arenot a necessary feature of the invention but may be utilized to enhancethe gripping power of the holder 10.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 through 4,inclusive, the flat portion 12 of holder 10 has pressure sensitiveadhesive tape 20 affixed thereto so that the holder 10 may be fastenedto a smooth surface. As shown in FIG. 4, the holder 10 is positioned ona vertical wall. The dispenser is then positioned between the endpositions 14 of holder 10 and is retained therein. The bottom wall ofthe dispenser abuts the flat portion 12 of holder 10 so that the extremeends 16 of end portions 14 contact and tightly grip the dispenser withinV2 inch of the bottom wall of the dispenser.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention in which thedispenser holder 30 is also formed from a single strip of single metal.The holder 30 has a flat portion 32 intermediate of end portions 34. Inthe embodiment of FIGS. 5-7, the end portions 34 are formed in straightline configurations.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the end walls 36 are formed perpendicular to theflat portion 32. Flange walls 38 are then formed so that they are, inthe undistorted condition, at an angle of approximately 35 to end walls36. The extreme ends 40 of flange walls 38 terminate no more than A;inch from the flat portion 32.

Pressure sensitive adhesive tape 42 is affixed to flat portion 32 to fixthe holder to a flat surface. It will be appreciated that fasteners suchas wood screws (not shown) or stove bolts (not shown) may be utilized tofix the holders 10 or 30 to a surface.

It will be apparent that, in some instances, it may be desirable to forma holder having one end as shown in holder 10 and the other end as shownin holder 30 and that the present invention does not preclude theformation of a holder in such fashion.

Because most facial tissue dispensers available commercially come insizes of 4 /2 inches, 4% inches or 4% inches in width, the holders 10 or30 of the present invention are preferably constructed so that thedistance between the extreme ends 16 or 40 of the holder 10 or 30 in theundistorted condition, is approximately 4 to 4% inches. It will furtherbe appreciated that pasteboard dispensers containing items other thantissues can be held by the holders 10 or 30. When formed to anappropriate size, the holder 10 or 30 is effective for supportingpasteboard dispensers containing paper towels, paper cups, wrappingpaper, and other household and commercial products.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple, preferred construction and mode of operation of my inventionand have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent itsbest embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood, that, withinthe scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

l. A dispenser-holder for holding and/or freely suspending a paperboarddispenser end-for-end and of a ward each other from the outermost endportion of their respective end walls and each terminating in adispenser-contacting free terminal flange end-edge extending over theentire width of the flange and defining a sharp linear edge and sharpcorners for gripingly contacting and biting into opposite sides of thepaper board dispenser to be held whereby the narrow strip embraces aminor medial portion of the dispenser being held or suspended whileitems are removed from the dispenser and attempted withdrawal of thenormal to the flat portion of the dispenser-holder causesdistortional-displacement and resistance to such withdrawal of both theendwalls and their respective flanges; and securing means for securingsaid strip of spring metal to a fixed object.

2. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the free terminal flangeend-edge terminates above the adjacent inner of the flat portion no morethan one-half inch whereby the dispenser is grasped from both sidesimmediately adjacent the portion engaging the fixed object to which thedispenser-holder is secured.

1. A dispenser-holder for holding and/or freely suspending a paperboarddispenser end-for-end and of a range of sizes a single substantiallyuniformly-narrow strip of spring metal substantially narrower than thecorresponding dimension of the dispenser being held or suspended andcomprising a flat portion with a pair of identical andlaterally-displacable dispensergripping end portions each having adisplacable end wall extending perpendicular to said flat portion andlaterallydisplacable at the juncture therewith and an inner,displacable, planar flange disposed, in the undistorted condition of theholder, at an acute angle to its respective end wall, said flange wallsconverging inwardly toward each other from the outermost end portion oftheir respective end walls and each terminating in adispenser-contacting free terminal flange end-edge extending over theentire width of the flange and defining a sharp linear edge and sharpcorners for gripingly contacting and biting into opposite sides of thepaper board dispenser to be held whereby the narrow strip embraces aminor medial portion of the dispenser being held or suspended whileitems are removed from the dispenser and attempted withdrawal of thenormal to the flat portion of the dispenser-holder causesdistortional-displacement and resistance to such withdrawal of both theendwalls and their respective flanges; and securing means for securingsaid strip of spring metal to a fixed object.
 2. The structure asclaimed in claim 1 in which the free terminal flange end-edge terminatesabove the adjacent inner of the flat portion no more than one-half inchwhereby the dispenser is grasped from both sides immediately adjacentthe portion engaging the fixed object to which the dispenser-holder issecured.